The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards (2024) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 38:00 minutes | 489 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Silver Arrow Records

The Black Crowes are leaving the bullshit in the past. 15 years after their last album of original music, the Robinson Brothers present ‘Happiness Bastards’- their 10th studio album. Some may say the project has been several tumultuous years in the making, but we argue it’s arriving at just the right time. Call it brotherly love or music destiny that brought them back together, the highly anticipated record consecrating the reunion of this legendary band just may be the thing that saves rock & roll. In a time where the art form is buried beneath the corporate sheen of its successors, The Black Crowes are biting back with the angst of words left unsaid penned on paper and electrified by guitar strings, revealing stripped, bare-boned rock & roll. No gloss, no glitter, just rhythm and blues at it’s very best – gritty, loud, and in your face.

Since The Black Crowes reunited in 2019, they’ve made a triumphant return to form with over 150 shows spanning 20 countries worldwide, celebrating the 30th anniversary of ‘Shake Your Money Maker’, the album that put them on the map. Upon their return from the road, they knew they needed something new to show for their lost time. The Robinson Brothers and longtime bassist Sven Pipien headed to the studio with producer Jay Joyce in early 2023 and the experiences of years past transcribed themself through the music as the band found their way back to their roots. And it’s finally here -‘Happiness Bastards’ is out March 15, 2024.

Nearly a quarter decade after they shook up radio with their Southern-fried Faces revival, Shake Your Moneymaker, the Black Crowes—that is, let’s be honest, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson—are back with a ninth album that embraces their crushed velvet and cracked leather roots. Happiness Bastards could’ve come out in 1990 or, more aptly, 1970 or ’71, filed next to the Stones and the Faces and James Gang. “Dirty Cold Sun” nods to the latter: blistering funk with deep-fried Southern rock guitar and piston rhythm, leaving nothing on the table. The guitar riffs, of course, come from the great Rich Robinson, king of open tuning, who had fallen into a rut during the late aughts (the less said about those albums, the better) but sounds rejuvenated on tracks like the urgent “Rats and Clowns.” His brother, meanwhile, seems like no decades have passed, that signature rasp honed to a fine point. “Bedside Manners” tears it up with greasy guitar and boogie piano frills, then slows its roll, as Chris does his usual motormouth riffing—spray-painting every corner with “huh” and “oh!”

The brothers did well by choosing Jay Joyce to produce; he’s excellent at pushing artists with a dark outlaw edge (Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Cage the Elephant) toward a multi-hued palette. “Cross Your Fingers” starts out as a ballad, then kicks into a confident, liquid-bass strut accented by Merry Clayton-style backing vocals. “Well, I stand accused on the shore of a stormy sea … And I survived the bullet you shot right through my heart/ And in this crime, I have surely taken part,” Chris sings in what could be an omission of the vainglory and rivalry that drove a wedge between the brothers for years. There are other nods to their shared history. Stomping “Follow the Moon” could be an outtake from their Amorica album, and the vocal melody of “Wanting and Waiting”‘s verses sound a lot like “Jealous Again” from 1990. But there are also a couple of left turns. “Flesh Wound” is a shit-kicker, its pop-punk beat and revved-up rockabilly guitar offering levity amidst the Stonesy shadows; you wouldn’t want a whole album of it, and it’s probably going to piss off some fans, but it’s a fun novelty. And “Kindred Friend” is a beautiful break from the regular programming; there is no juke-joint bite to this Lennon-esque ballad. There is one wasted moment on Happiness Bastards. Country star Lainey Wilson signs up for harmony on swampy, gospel-tinged “Wilted Rose,” but her powerhouse is too low in the mix to matter. Wilson is a master at duets (see: Jelly Roll, Hardy, Cole Swindell); too bad the Crowes couldn’t make room for her. – Shelly Ridenour

Tracklist:
1-1. The Black Crowes – Bedside Manners (03:41)
1-2. The Black Crowes – Rats and Clowns (03:33)
1-3. The Black Crowes – Cross Your Fingers (03:49)
1-4. The Black Crowes – Wanting and Waiting (04:15)
1-5. The Black Crowes – Wilted Rose (feat. Lainey Wilson) (05:06)
1-6. The Black Crowes – Dirty Cold Sun (03:05)
1-7. The Black Crowes – Bleed It Dry (02:56)
1-8. The Black Crowes – Flesh Wound (03:34)
1-9. The Black Crowes – Follow the Moon (03:26)
1-10. The Black Crowes – Kindred Friend (04:29)

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